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Germany invades Poland
The soviet invasion of Poland occurred on the 17th September. It was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. -
Warsaw captured
On September 1, 1939, Germany declared war by launching an air raid followed with a siege that killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians and wreaked havoc on historic monuments. Because Warsaw was so deprived of electricity, water and food, Warsaw surrender to the Germans on September 27. -
UK wins wars first sea battle
British cruisers defeat a German pocket battleship during the Battle of the River Plate. This was the first major naval engagement of World War II -
Germany invades
Germany invaded France, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Britain and Denmark. Later leading to success in all these countries except for Britain. -
Germany invades Norway
The German occupation of Norway began on 8 April 1940 when Norway was invaded by German forces.This ultimately ended a 6-month period of limited land operations called the “Phony War” -
Germans launch offensive in the West.
The Germans reluctance to limit their war to the conquest of Poland to launch meaningful peace talks, meant that the Second World War broadened out. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
On the 26 of May, 1940, the trapped British army evacuates to England from Dunkirk France, surviving to fight another day. When the evacuation ended on June 4, about 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops had been saved. -
Paris falls to Nazis
Paris fell to Nazi Germany on June 14 1940, one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France. Eight days later, France signed an armistice with the Germans, and a Vichy France was set up. -
Battle of Britain begins
The Battle of Britain began on December the 8th. It was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force defended the UK against attacks by Nazi Germanys air force. -
Germany attacks Soviet Union as Operation Barbarossa begins
Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. Three army groups with over three million Germain soldiers and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Japan launched a sneak attack on the U.S Pacific Fleets base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, as part of a plan to eliminate any potential challenge to Japanese conquests in Asis. The attack forced the US to enter World War II as a fighter, and to start a struggle to defeat the Japanese empire. Before the attack, many Americans were reluctant to become involved in the war in Europe. This all changed when the US declared war on Japan, bringing the country into WWII. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was a huge clash between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy that played out six months after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The U.S Navy’s victory in the air-sea battle and its successful defence of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japans hopes of neutralising the US as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of WWII in the pacific. However, this battle was quite insignificant in comparison to larger battles later in the war, especially in Europe. -
Germans begin their last offensive against Kursk
The battle of Kursk occurred in July 1943 around the Soviet city of Kursk in western Russia, as Germany launched Operation Citadel, Hitlers response to his devastating defeat by the Soviet Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad. -
D-Day landings on the Northern coast of France
On the 6th of June, 1944, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortifies coast of Frances Normandy region. This battle resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. -
Paris is liberated from German control
The Liberation of Paris was a military battle that took place during WWII from 19th august 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25th August 1944. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The clash that occurred in World War II followed the Allied landing at the Philippine island of Leyte. During the Battle, the Japanese sought to meet three naval forces on Leyte Gulf, and successfully diverted the U.S. The Japanese suffered tremendous losses, with 419,912 deaths and injuries. Although this battle resulted in the sinking of seven aircraft carriers, and a huge number of casualties, its historical impact seems to be more muted than European battles such as Midway and Pearl Harbour. -
Battle of Bulge
The Battle of Bulge, beginning in December of 1944, lasted a total of six weeks. During this battle there were frigid weather conditions, with some 30 German divisions attacking battle-fatigued American troops across 85 miles of the Ardennes Forest. -
Hitler commits suicide
On April 30 1945, hidden in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. -
Germany surrender
On May 7th, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies in Reims, France ending World War II. At first, General Jodl hoped to limit the terms of German surrender to those forces still fighting in the Western Allies. However, General Dwight demanded a complete surrender of all German forces (East and West) -
Reference list
- https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-invasion-of-western-europe-may-1940
- https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48215675
- https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-britain
- https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-kursk 5.https://www.sutori.com/story/6-major-events-in-europe-during-ww2--TVsg29V1XiUzRZwm5w97QchM 6.https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide
- Pearson History 10 Textbook
